If you happen to be in the Lake Erie neighborhood tomorrow night, the Cleveland Orchestra will be showcasing several new works by American and British composers under the baton of Oliver Knussen. The concert will include a world premiere of Wanderlust by Cornell doctoral student Sean Shepherd, a US premiere of Helios Choros III by Augusta Read Thomas and performances of works by Julian Anderson, Luke Bedford and Knussen himself (his Requiem: Songs for Sue featuring the talents of soprano Elizabeth Keusch).
The concert will begin at 8pm in Severence Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, with tickets being available online or at the door (for more information call (216) 231-1111 or (800) 686-1141). Shepherd and Thomas will be giving a pre-concert talk at 7pm and you can read about each work ahead of time in their program notes.
I’ve been hearing more and more great things about Oliver Knussen recently. What I want to know is, when is he coming down to LA? I know he’s had his music played by the LA Phil in the past but haven’t heard anything recently.
Anyway, bravo to the Cleveland Orchestra for a great contemporary music program!
Rob, you folks in sophisticated Cleveland are luckier than us folks in Washington, D.C. who were only treated by the NSO and Oliver Knussen to four new works (rather than five) for a total of only 55 minutes. (Did they cut the Gunther Schuller down to 15 minutes?)
Here is the link to the program notes to May 7, for anyone interested. Enjoy the concert!
http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showEvent&event=NJCSS